A Statesman Goes Home

The news is breaking even now that NC Senator Jesse Helms has died. The Fourth of July is a good time for us to think about the history of this statesman.

Like him or not, you must admit you always knew where Jesse Helms stood. He did not wait for poll results to see what his opinion would be. With a large percentage of the population, he was unpopular – for that very reason.

Today (and this is SO evident during the political season) we have a bumper crop of politicians. I don’t know how Webster defines the terms, but allow me to give you my definition. A politician is one who will cut a deal in a heartbeat in order to get (and stay) elected, driven by the desire to be popular – they give no evidence of personal convictions. Polls and popular opinion are their moral compass.

A Statesman is motivated by a desire for national good, even at the expense of their own popularity. Their convictions are such that others are drawn to the truth that there are unwavering rights and wrongs. A statesman will sacrifice their own career (and even their life) before they will compromise their convictions.

It was statesmen who gathered to prayerfully construct such documents as our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. It was statesmen who then pursued at all cost the dream that all men are “endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. . . “ they are a dying breed. We have lost one more even this day.

May God grant peace to the Helms family during their time of loss and may God continue to bless America.